A Travel Journal of A Path to Wellness

Tag Archives: plants

It’s definitely spring here in the East Bay. And with the bit of rain we finally got this weekend, the plant life is whistling dixie!

These are growing on the main tree in our yard. I haven’t identified it yet. I’m thinking of getting a book at the library. Any suggestions on good books for identifying trees and plants?

This little guy refuses to give up. This tree was hacked down by someone but it refuses to not be a tree again! Gotta love the determination of nature.

This beautiful plant, I just learned, is a sparaxis. It’s an easy to grow bulb, obviously since it just sprouted up next to some rocks. I had a feeling it was some sort of bulb when I saw the green leaves popping up in late winter. My mom plants enough bulbs in her garden for me to recognize those hearty leaves! (Thanks, Mom! This one almost got weed whacked.)

Here’s another little tree that got cut down to size but it looks happier than ever. The red leaves kind of remind me of my favorite tree in the back but I don’t think there are the same. We’ll have to wait and see what it turns into so I can better identify it. Shout it out if you already know!!

These are hanging over my fence from my landlord’s yard. They look like crab apple blossoms. Or maybe just apple blossoms. I know he has citrus trees.

Finally is the favorite of the yard which is now started to bud. At first I wasn’t sure if these would turn into flowers but I saw one downtown that had cute little white flowers on it already. But it was a bush. I’m guessing this guy was a bush at one point. Now it’s quite a large tree. Perfect for little climbers.

So that’s just a little of what’s happening around the yard. I’ve really got to get going on planting some food baring plants. We’re going to New York next week so I’ll get started when we return. There’s actually some mint and rosemary that are growing wild. I think I mentioned that I wanted to get them into pots. We also set up a rope swing which the All-Star needs to tweak a bit. Fun times! It’s so nice finally having a yard.

When I woke up this morning, I was a bit distressed. All my things are in LB and The All-Star is in the Bay Area. I didn’t know what I would do with my day. My limbs are too achy to move more boxes and I’m not in the mood to nest alone. Suddenly I realized that my babies were not prepared properly for this move. Who are my babies you ask? Well they’d be my garden of potted plants.

Gardening has slowly become a new passion of mine. But my relationship with greenery has not always been an easy one. My thumb was no where near green when I started. In fact, for a while, it was a depressing shade of black. Very frustrating but I forged forward. After several failed attempts and a few shed tears (yes, I cried over dead plants), I have finally attained a mildly green thumb, or at least one that can keep them alive and even, for some, flourishing!

So in the absence of my partner and all of my “stuff”, I took the opportunity to transfer some of my little buddies into better pots in hopes that they will continue to thrive at the new apartment. Some will be brought from outside to inside which I think will be okay since it’s starting to get cold at night. I’m excited to show them their new home. There’s lots of windows for them to enjoy the light through.

These are the little ones I’m trying to raise. The one of the left is a Bromeliad pup and the other is a cutting from a Spider Plant. Fingers crossed for both, I don’t think I propagated them correctly.

This guy in the middle is a Miniature Rose. The All-Star gave him to me last Valentine’s Day. He was barely hanging on for a while, but is doing much better now. I even got a bloom this summer. We’ll see how he holds up through the winter.

This is the mama Peace Lily. She’s the very first plant I got when I moved to California and she’s the only one from then still standing. What a tough girl. I gave her this new pretty pot today.

These plants really do enrich my life. Caring for them to makes me feel peaceful and part of nature. I love watching them change shape and grow. Their finicky characters have taught me to have patience and a gentle hand. Their glowing green calms my mind. Their release of oxygen freshens my air. Their dirt reminds me that I can grow from the “yuck” that life sometimes likes to throw my way.

Gardening is an important aspect of my path towards wellness. Not only is it a hobby that makes me happy but it brings beauty and serenity to my surroundings. I’m glad I didn’t give up on them. They’ve made a difference in my life, for sure.

What hobbies do you have that enrich your life??

I can’t end this post without first thanking my Dad and Aunt Chris for introducing to me the wonderfulness of plants. I hope one day my thumb can be as green as theirs are.

Hi! I'm Laura. A thirty-something, self-employed, wife and mother just trying to enjoy life in this nutty world. I'm not always perfect and neither are my habits, but life is a journey and I'm on a path to wellness